*** Denny's Deal ***

Just thought I would share a great deal for familes with kids trying to pinch pennies yet be able to afford to take the kiddos out for a treat. My local Denny's every Tuesday and Saturday have kids night that kids eat for FREE. For every adult you get 2 FREE kids meals.

Drinks are not for free but you could always get plain water with a lemon for kids. But the deal gets better when the adults purchase 2 entrees with 2 beverages. In the 3-29-09 Smartsource insert there are coupons for Denny's on the very back page. There is a B1G1 Free coupon for 2 adult entrees and 2 drinks. So the family can all eat for CHEAP!

You could switch it up and share the adult drinks with the kids or however you want to do it. But thought I would post. Coupons expire 5-15-09

Renee:)

Underneath it all

Underneath everything that has come our way we are so grateful to just be here together as a family. No obstacle can break our spirit down. Setbacks, economy, very slow business, long term illness all can bring my spirits down. But in order to survive the bare basic necessities are all we need.

FAITH
FAMILY
FOOD
CLOTHING
WARMTH

A newer car, nicer clothes, and better things are just a drop in the bucket right now and are the least of my worries. I hold my husband tight, my children close and be thankful everyday like it is the last.

With Spring air in the midst of my day new cells of thinking are on their way. What can I do is the most of my thoughts....

What can I do to make my home nicer without spending?

What can I do to make my husband feel how grateful we all are for his efforts in providing for our family?

What can I do to make my children feel special, what is on their minds right now?

What can I do to better myself and think of ideas of how to bring extra money at home yet still be at home with my children?

There are so many more things that have recently come up in this mom brain of mine. Curious what some of you have been thinking recently about your lives, or what is in store for you in the next few months?

Blessings:: Nay

After

10 Minute Cleanup

This is two of my drawers in my small kitchen. Just a small task that I figured I could accomplish while cooking.

Small spaces makes big faces :) :) :) :)

Children love their very own spaces. Special places that they can call their own to feel safe and nurtured when they need some down time. I had a huge hydrangea bush that billowed over that I had some of the best alone time moments a little girl could have had. Mud pies, special flower soup for my dolls, and just plain pretending.

Here is our 4 yr. old son with a little space I can up with this morning in a matter of minutes. The flameless candle is great for a no-flame light when the doors are closed and he wants to pretend he is camping out and reading story.

I'm Here... Really!

Don't you worry my friends I am here still alive, breathing the fresh Autumn air. The past two months have been chaotic here in the family household. When I do have time I will post some more and visit so many of the blogs that I have missed these past few weeks.

Family comes first then computer. Life happens with all the twists and turns. Note to myself what really needs to be done this week:

- Send out way over due little girl clothing to a special lady with two little girls.

- Send out money to get health insurance to kick in (hoping very soon) My knee needs to be operated on once again and I can not tolerate this pain much longer.

Our home is getting pest-ified today- mice in the attic and it bothers me the pitter patter of little rodent feet. Our home is also getting carpet upstairs and downstairs so everything is in bunches in the rooms that are not getting carpeted.

It's a tornado like moving week yet everything does not go into another home it goes right back in each room. Taking everything downstairs from the three rooms upstairs has really irritated my arthritis laden knee so I had to ask for help...hard for me but did.

One thing I have to say for all the no credit card lovin people we saved money for the carpet with no debt to come out of this. This Christmas will be a frugal one int he fact that I will be making goodie baskets for family and friends from all my CVS, Walmart, and grocery store deals. It's the thought that counts not what you pay. Baskets and containers can b e purchased inexpensively to house all those goodies. Metal tins from the Salvation Army will be cleaned, decorated by the children and we will make it a cookie making feista here.

This fall my husband and I decided to put some hay that is stocked in our shed for our great dane Shane and we put it in the utility wagon. We either use the riding tractor the ATV and slow like a turtle pull the children around the mountain. They love it! And it's great seeing all the changing leaves and also the wildlife around here.

A plan is to invite my friends daughter for a ride and also to have a treat of homemade mulled cider mulling away in the trusty crockpot and munch on some powdered little doughnuts to boot. Treats are ok in moderation I think.

Menu plans for the week include: homemade pizza with salad, crockpot beef roast with corn and mashed potatoes, roasted chicken with scalloped potaoes and green beans, mini meatloves with buttered rice and glazed baby carrots, stuffed peppers with garlic noodles, homemade chicken pot pie since we will have leftover chicken this week.

I also really want to try the taco dish featured on Crystal's MoneySaving Mom's site it looks so yummy! I also remember seeing some people on there having a haystack dish which I have never heard of.

What else are you cooks coming up with for the week?

~ Saving and Tips ~

Saving money has been on mind a lot lately. With prices going up on everything no wonder why I have taken saving money to the extreme. Some ways we personally save money as a family are:

- Get a local library card. We can rent 3 movies at a time for a week. There are many DVD's and VHS movie titles to choose from. Also there are many educational shows, exercise, and language titles as well.

- We shop at the local grocery stores that have gas savings attached. Buy items that we need, or can use for cheap since we use coupons then reap benefits of having money taken off at the gas pump on each gallon.

- Take inventory of your families household needs and wants. Keeping track of everything on paper/notebook really helps only to spend what is needed. Clothing inventory each season is a top lister on our agendas. Also just the everyday items like toilet paper, shampoo, and laundry items.

- Shop at thrift stores. My favorite is the Salvation Army. I outfitted our family of six very well with a lot of name brands for cheap. I strive for $1.00 or under for each item. And we go on Wednesdays since every tag but one is 50% off. Savings is great in the fact that even on new- clearance store clothing never reaches the savings on things we NEED at that time.

- Put all electrical items on a power strip. Not only are you saving your expensive electronic items from going caput during a storm, but you save money if you turn the power strip off while not in use. A lot of people do not know that even though they turn off an item that it still draws power. Using the power strip button makes a halt to the electricity.

- Pre-treating laundry stains before laundering your clothing. For us we get so many stains but with being frugal means using all kinds of inexpensive laundry detergent. So I don't take a chance that the detergent will get the stains out and I pre-treat and let sit awhile. Also use less laundry detergent and do not go by the back of the bottle. Fabric softener sheets cut in half, or use less of the liquid softener. Vinegar plus adding a few drops of EO (essential oils) is a great alternative to commercial softeners.

- Re-use your plastic bags from shopping for your little trashcans in the bathroom, or other areas in your home.